Chieftains claim Central Mass. title with overtime win

The Nashoba Regional High School girls soccer team is the Central Mass. Division 1 champion for the second consecutive year.

A goal by senior captain Kim Slade with a minute and 30 seconds gone in overtime, gave the undefeated Chieftains a 1-0 victory over Algonquin Regional in the championship game, on Saturday afternoon, at Wachusett Regional High School.

The win gave Nashoba its seventh D-1 title.

Nashoba owns a 17-0-4 record and advances to the state semifinals on Wednesday, at Nashoba. The time and opponent for that game have not yet been determined.

“We were certainly happy to get that goal,” Chieftain coach Pam Vaughn said. “Algonquin is a fabulous team, and this (game) is exactly what I expected.

“It was a back-and-forth type of game and a real battle,” she said.

The Tomahawks finish the season with a 15-3-3 record.

The Chieftains were responsible for all three Algonquin losses this year, having defeated them twice during the regular season.

Both teams had scoring opportunities in the first half.

Nashoba came closest to scoring a goal at the six-minute mark, when sophomore forwards Sarah Clopeck and Amber Gustafson just missed connecting, with Tomahawk junior goalkeeper Sarah Jackson making the save.

With less than a minute to go in the first half, Algonquin senior captain Michaela Horne tested Chieftain senior keeper Eileen McGarry with a bullet from 20 yards out. McGarry stepped up and made the save.

The game was scoreless at the half.

The defensive battle continued in the second half, with neither team breaking through for a goal, thus forcing the extra session.

Like lightening, Nashoba put the game away in overtime. Gustafson dribbled the ball at midfield and then motored toward the Tomahawk goal area, before crossing the ball to Slade, who one-timed the game winner into the left corner of the Algonquin net.

“I was so happy for her (Slade) to finish that (shot),” Vaughan said. “That was a right-footed shot. She finished it low, and it was accurate.

“That is a senior captain for you,” she said. “She made sure she executed it, and that's what you hope to get from a player like that in this big game.

“She did it last year in the District finals, too, and I was really proud of her,” Vaughan added.

Gustafson was just looking for someone to pass to on the winning shot.

“I was either going to take the shot or look for a teammate, and this team is all about teamwork,” Gustafson said. “I knew that she (Slade) was going to put it in.”

Slade was happy her teammate saw her open.

“I'm not sure how the ball got to me, but the ball kind of rolled back and I finished it with the side of my foot,” Slade said. “There is really no way to describe this team and what we have this year and this win that we just created for ourselves.

“Algonquin is a huge opponent for us, and they gave it their all,” she said. “We played hard throughout the game and were able to finish with that goal.”